Cynthia Priebe - Microsoft MVP

I have found that my success comes from bringing order to complexity while keeping people aligned. I tend to see how the pieces fit together, but more importantly, I focus on explaining decisions in a way that builds confidence rather than defensiveness. In situations with many voices, shifting priorities, or incomplete information, I aim to be a steady presence.

Over time, I have come to understand that this ability is not something I manufactured. It feels innate. I see it as a God given talent, much like others are naturally drawn to art, music, or leadership. It is not something I take personal credit for so much as something I feel responsible for using well, especially when clarity and calm matter most.

I am deeply motivated to share what I have learned by doing. Much of my knowledge came from working through problems where clear answers simply did not exist. Because of that, I invest time in translating real world experience into practical guidance through industry publications, my blog, LinkedIn, and as a presenter at user and partner conferences. That work has been recognized by Microsoft through my designation as a Microsoft MVP in Business Applications for Business Central since 2024.

Mentorship is a natural extension of this commitment. I have served as co chair of the Dynamics User Group mentorship program since 2023, and I have been informally mentoring women in technology for more than fifteen years. I approach mentorship as a shared learning process. My hope is that the women I work with gain not only confidence in their skills, but a deeper understanding of themselves, just as I continue to learn about myself through working alongside them.

What I share resonates because it is grounded in lived experience rather than theory. The ideas and guidance I put into the world speak for themselves. I have never focused on selling my services. Instead, people and organizations seek me out because clarity builds trust.

Shared understanding creates its own momentum.

The best career advice I’ve ever been given didn’t come from a boardroom. It came from a riding ring.

I was in a lesson, doing what analysts do best, over analyzing. I was riding into a corner mentally checking my rein length, hand position, leg pressure, my horse’s flexion and extension, and a dozen other details I already knew how to manage. I was so focused on getting everything exactly right that I stopped actually riding.

I heard my name called, then repeated, getting louder each time. My instructor told me to ride into the center of the ring. When I got there, she looked at me and said, “You and your horse know what to do. You’re adding tension, indecision, and confusion by overthinking what you already know. Just ride the damn horse.”

That lesson stuck.

I’ve repeated that phrase in conference rooms, board meetings, and classrooms ever since. When people are highly capable, well prepared, and experienced, the biggest risk is not lack of knowledge. The real risk wasn’t that we didn’t know enough. It was that we kept tightening our grip on details we already understood, until forward motion stopped.

This isn’t the only lesson I’ve learned from working with horses, but it’s the one I return to most often. When the fundamentals are solid and the relationship is sound, the best move is to breathe, get centered, and move forward.

Just ride the damn horse.

The best advice I can give young women entering this industry is this: do the work, learn the fundamentals deeply, and then trust yourself enough to move forward. At some point, you have to just ride the damn horse.

You will often know more than you think you do. You will be well prepared before you feel confident. The danger is not stepping forward too early. The danger is tightening your grip on details you already understand and waiting for certainty, permission, or consensus that may never come.

When the fundamentals are solid, clarity comes from motion. Confidence follows action, not the other way around. Learn from mentors, ask good questions, and then use your own judgment. That is how trust is built, both in yourself and with others.

Yep, you guessed it—AI. But not in the way most people mean it.

The biggest challenge and opportunity in my field right now is learning how to use AI as a tool and a collaborator, not as a replacement for thinking, judgment, or voice. I don’t use AI to generate answers on its own. I use it as a thinking partner, a drafting assistant, and a way to explore patterns faster, always grounded in my own experience and accountability.

The challenge is that AI can sound confident even when it’s wrong. Without strong fundamentals and validation, it creates the illusion of certainty and accelerates bad decisions. Used carelessly, it adds noise. Used well, it compresses time, sharpens insight, and frees humans to focus on judgment and alignment.

The opportunity is greatest for people who already understand their domain. AI becomes an extension of my voice, not its own. It helps me test ideas, explore alternatives, and clarify explanations, but every conclusion and recommendation remains mine. Trust depends on knowing there is a human behind the reasoning.

AI can accelerate shared understanding, but it cannot replace it.

When I think about what truly matters to me, it starts with transparency and consistency. I value transparency not because I need control, but because a lack of it creates confusion and unnecessary anxiety for people. In complex situations, my instinct is to be open, consistent, and steady so others can think clearly, make decisions with confidence, and move forward without carrying stress that doesn’t belong to the work.

I value honest revelation over false certainty, both professionally and personally. I’m wary of anyone who claims to know everything, to have more than others, to name-drop as a substitute for substance, or to position themselves as better than the people around them. That kind of posture shuts down learning and connection. I’m comfortable saying “I don’t know yet” when that’s the truth. What matters to me is staying with the problem, asking better questions, and taking responsibility together for finding the right answer. Sound judgment and results, not a performance, are what build real credibility.

I value generosity in learning. Sharing what I’ve learned feels less like teaching and more like working things out in the open. That shows up everywhere for me, not just at work. It might be writing an article, mentoring someone, collaborating on a project, or simply sharing how AI can help in everyday life during a casual, social conversation. Whether the setting is formal or informal, my goal is the same: to leave people more capable and more confident than when we started. Growth is rarely one directional. I am always learning, and I hope others are too when they work alongside me.

I value relationships built on trust, and trust is created through consistency, both in words and in actions. It isn’t abstract to me. It shows up in small, everyday moments when people come prepared, listen well, follow through, and admit mistakes without defensiveness. I respect people who are willing to step forward and share before everything is perfectly settled, because it often never is. I also believe in acknowledging that inaction can have just as much impact as action, and sometimes more.

Ultimately, I value steady forward motion rooted in shared understanding. I don’t believe momentum comes from pressure, ego, or urgency for its own sake. It comes when people understand the why, trust their judgment, and feel supported enough to move. Shared understanding creates its own momentum.